The Cavern
by tinylittlebunny
Summary: Ion, who has been kidnapped by Cain, finds he must confront what lies in the shadowy darkness of the cavern.
1. Chapter 1

Ion awoke to a searing light. He yelled and scrambled back away from the light source, shielding his eyes with his arms. As eyes adjusted, he found himself near the edge of a ledge in a giantic cavern. Spread out before him was a huge white glowing pit that emitted a strange low hum. The rocky cavern walls were illuminated by the milky glow, throwing the shadows of thousands of nooks, outcropping and ledges. Above him stalactites studded the cave ceiling in every place except for one area - a circular hole at the very top about a hundred feet up. Ion could just make out a few dim stars.

"It takes some getting used to doesn't it," said a deep voice from behind him.

_The Contra Mundi. Cain._

Instinctively Ion reached for his dagger but -

"Oh dear, were you looking for this."

A dagger, _his_ dagger, was pressed at his throat.

"Hello Ion. It's such a pleasure to meet you." Ion felt Cain's hot breath tickle the back of his ear. He flushed, feeling scared; and angry at himself for feeling so.

"You smell so sweet, so _very_ sweet. It's no wonder brother keeps you close. I would do the same, were you mine."

Ion had heard enough. "Where are we, you cur," he snarled. _And what do you plan to do to me?_

"This is my own little cathedral of light, a little shrine you might say." As he spoke, Cain lightly dragged the tip of the dagger across Ion's cheek, tracing out an invisible heart. "Abel has no idea how much I want him to see this. I've done it all for him, it's been my pet project for awhile. The energy you see before you is enough to change his body, vaporize it as mine was. I want him to understand how it feels, this wretched body." Cain sighed, moving the knife tip slowly back down toward Ion's neck.

"It's all been prepared. And you, sweet boy, are just the final touch. Don't worry your pretty golden head about it though." Cain's lips drew closer and they brushed against Ion's ear as he whispered, "She barely leaves a mark." He flicked the knife lightly, breaking Ion's pale delicate skin.

"...most of the time."

A thin line of blood bloomed out of the scratch.

Ion felt a hand choking him. He struggled mightly but he ended up stumbling backwards as Cain moved away from the pit.

Methuselah knife in one hand and Methuselah boy in the other Cain entered a narrow hallway off the main cavern. Ion could only look up a the underside of Cain's elegant face as he was dragged down the long hall. Cain wore an unusual white, gold trimmed uniform and, from the position Ion was being held, he could see the beautifully gilded handle of a long dagger. There was something that was familiar about it, something sinister. Ion was struggling to remember why the dagger made him uneasy when he heard a latch flip and the sound of a heavy door opening. A second later he was flung backwards onto the grimy concrete floor.

"Feeding time my little pet," Cain said looking over Ion's head into the the darkness. He turned and shut the metal bar door. Walking away slowly he called behind him, "She's so picky with your kind, but if you're not to her liking I'll gladly have a taste of you later. Good bye, Ion Fortuna."

As Ion watched the crusnik's retreating back, he remember what it was about his blade that made it so sinister. Radu had shown him a similar one when they were children. Ion had coveted it for it's beauty, but it was not the beauty that iced his heart. The intricate fleur-de-lis pattern on the blade was not solely for decoration; a latch at the hilt would release poison that would saturate the blade in a fraction of a second. A mere scratch could be fatal if a strong enough toxin was used.

"You coward, you can't even fight fairly," he screamed, throwing his small body against the prison door. "You will never be like him, Cain. You are not the same. You will _never_ be the same. Do you hear me you vile monster. _Never_!"

Cain just continued gliding down the hall, back toward the cavern light.

Ion heard his name called out softly behind him and he turned towards the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

"ion fortuna," her heard a voice call to him.

Much of the room lay in darkness and Ion could only make out the vague outline of a shifting shadow deep within the damp prison cell.

"ion, ion. yes i know this name, yes, but why does he name them now? they have never been named before. he's the one from the empire. ion from the new human empire."

He heard faint footsteps, the soft padding sound of bare feet but they did not draw closer or away from him. The voice was low but distinctly feminine and...familiar.

Ion took a step forward. "I am Ion -"

"yes yes, i heard, i know you ion fortuna, noble of moldova, earl of memphis. but why now? why you are here? why does he do this?" The female issued her words in a whispery babble.

Ion pressed deeper in, lured by his curiosity. Against the shadows of the far wall he could just make out a thin figure, clothed in only a threadbare white dress, maniacally pacing back and forth. As she spoke her hands repeatedly skittered across her collarbone, as if absently searching for a necklace that had been lost long ago.

"How do you know of the Earl of Memphis?" asked Ion, puzzled at the accurate recitation of his title.

"she met him in the new human empire, do you recall earl? dinner at his grandmother's house, a grand mansion, unlike anything she had ever been to before. so very lovely. gardens of evening primrose and moonlilies, and a small fish pond. there were frogs near the pond. so tiny and perfect. you laughed with her near the pond, ion. do you remember?"

Ion moved even closer, straining to see her face which was hidden beneath long, dark blonde bangs.

"Ana?" Ion whispered.

Years ago at an small dinner party held at his grandmother's estate, a tall, lithe girl named Anastasya Elinkova had been formally introduced to him as a grandniece of the Contessa Ravenna.

_You will be polite, won't you? _the Duchess had asked her grandson with an arch smile.

That night, at his grandmother's gentle prompt, the Earl of Memphis offered a personal tour of the private gardens. During dinner - a tedious, long nine-course affair - Ion been slightly put off by the girl's naiveté, but as they wandered through the lush grounds together in the moonlight, he found her to be decent company. And she was pretty...for a halfling.

Ion suspected that his grandmother hadn't revealed the whole truth about their guest. As the young pair took their garden stroll, he surreptitiously appraised the girl, wondering what kind of blood ran through her veins. He very much doubted she was even remotely related to the imperious, haughty Contessa.

There had been a certain charm about Ana that lingered in his mind for days afterwards - like her unreserved delight when he revealed a miniature Riorian frog perched upon the pad of his finger. He'd never seen anyone so completely enraptured by a simple frog. Even now, standing in the cold dank room, the memory of seeing her face light up stirred in him something akin to real happiness.

But that night had been more than four or five years prior, before he'd even met Abel or Esther.

Ion hesitated, concerned his next question might only intensify her already erratic behavior.

"May I...may I ask what happened to you after that night?"

She stopped and tilted her head up, hands frozen over her clavicle. For the briefest of moments her green eyes held his gaze and he was startled at the deadness in them.

"the same thing that happened to you, ion fortuna, earl of memphis," she murmured, resuming her agitated prowl.

"Cain."


End file.
